Ministry News

HE Interior Minister’s interview to Asharq Al Awsat newspaper

The Naturalisation issue and the targeting of national identity created a conflict whereas the ties between Bahraini and Qatari families should be the social strength between the two countries.

Qatar’s idea of sheltering extremists and terrorists doesn’t fall in the purview of national sovereignty

We have evidence of Qatari involvement in supporting terrorist acts

Spying on Bahrain to target its national security is one form of Qatari interference

We face strong challenges that need to be tackled with unity

Qatar has dealt with the severance of ties by ignoring its violations against the countries that cut relations with it and has tried to overlook the reasons behind the decision.

What Qatar did cannot be ignored and it should rectify the situation

The solution to the situation can be reached once Qatar admits its violations against Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt.

Among the leading future projects is the move to strengthen our domestic front and national identity

Major sacrifices have been made to achieve security, stability and prosperity

We should protect the homogeneity of our national security

Disloyalty to the nation will be tackled in accordance with the law

We work through the legislation to build a strong national consensus under the leadership of HM the King.

Q1: Your Excellency, how is the security situation in the Kingdom of Bahrain today?

Despite regional security challenges, the security situation in the Kingdom of Bahrain in general is secure and stable under the wise leadership of HM the King, the efforts of the government, the dedication and sacrifices of the police personnel and the people’s cooperation. Every society has its own security challenges, hence the security institution has to determine such threats and take appropriate steps within the law to eliminate them. We in Bahrain have learnt our security lessons that keep us alert and we have enough experience to deal with future challenges.

As Bahrain is committed to excellent ties with, and strong stances towards, brotherly and friendly countries, it receives the required brotherly backing from them. While discussing the security situation, I must say we are receiving more visitors than ever before. This shows clearly that the country is safe.

Q2: What is the level of Iranian interference in the internal affairs of Bahrain? What are the steps taken to tackle it?

We have explained the risky Iranian interferences in detailed to our brothers and friends out of mutual cooperation and coordination.

Iran has focused on exporting extremism and sectarianism to establish its roots in Bahrain with the backing of the Wali-i-Faqih (Guardian Jurist). The intensity of the interference has increased after the 2011 incidents. It includes training in the use of weapons and bomb-making and field combat skills by members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, in addition to providing support for the trafficking of various types of high-grade explosive. It has been noticed that lately their focus has been on transferring the bomb-making technology while the commands to commit terrorist acts come from the fugitives living in Iran.

The current hostile statements from Iranian officials are part of the interference. The Iranian TV channels and other media outlets work round the clock to spread hatred, malicious rumours and misleading facts to promote its agenda in the region.

As for the steps taken to tackle such interference, by the grace of God and the efforts of the security authorities we have succeeded in exposing terror cells and have found out about their sources and activities. We have also arrested those involved in the terrorist acts which resulted in the deaths of policemen, innocent citizens and residents and the legal system have dealt with them in accordance with the law. We have also upgraded our security capabilities in various areas to tackle such challenges.

Q3: What are Qatar’s negative stands and the level of interference in the internal affairs of Bahrain?

Qatar’s negative stands and its repeated interference in our internal affairs are a continuing process and cover various aspects. In the political field it is Qatar’s claim, based on forged documents, that the Hawar islands are part of its territories, while in the economic field Qatar has hindered the construction of a bridge to link it with Bahrain. It has also not contributed its share of the GCC support programme like other Gulf countries and has not allowed gas exports to Bahrain, forcing us to import it from different countries.

In the social field it is the naturalisation issue, which has its basis in history as the ties between families of the two countries are one under one ruler. Instead of making the relations between the Bahraini and Qatari families a basis of social strength, Qatar has turned the matter into a conflict and has targeted the concept of the national identity. The ongoing naturalisation process of Bahraini families affects our social security. Qatar has also threatened our national security through its espionage operations.

Qatar has adopted in 2011 through is Prime Minister the viewpoint of Al Wefaq and the plotters to overthrow the government and set up a country based on Wali-i-Faqih (Guardian Jurist). We were expecting from them a stand similar to that of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which offered us support and backing.

The role of the Qatari media, especially of Al Jazeera which dedicated itself to providing a biased media coverage that served non-nationalistic goals, resulted in human and material losses in 2011. The channel also incited people to boycott the National Action Charter referendum. The official Qatari media interviewed people working against Bahrain’s interests.

A survey of Al Jazeera’s coverage of incidents in Bahrain from 2011 to 2017 shows that the channel covered them for 6,000 minutes, including 4,000 minutes in 2011. This shows the negative media coverage of the channel at that time. While the coverage of Al Jazeera’s English channel is different from that of the Arabic channel it is far from the truth while trying to distort the image of Bahrain abroad. Indeed Qatar went far in its interference by supporting all forms of terrorism.

Q4: Why the countries that are against terrorism took now the decision to sever ties with Qatar?
This question should be asked to Qatar, as its refuses to talk about the issue and reasons that led to the such approach. Qatar dealt with the announcement of the boycotting countries by forgetting reasons behind it, as those countries took it to protect its security and stability. Matters that were exposed in the media recently can’t be ignored because they happened long ago and they should be corrected. The solution could be reached after Qatar admits what it did against those countries.
Q5: How you see the effects of Qatar on the security of GCC countries?
It represents a threat to the security of Gulf countries through the continuation of its policy of backing extremists and terrorists. This goes beyond national sovereignty and effect the strength and unity of Gulf countries against regional challenges. There are many incidents that prove Qatar negative approach, such as the assassination attempt of the Saudi King, coupe in the UAQ and the plotting of the overthrowing of the government in Bahrain. By grace of God all those attempts failed, while if they succeeded then they would had major implications.
Q6: What are your top future priorities in the protection of Bahrain security?
By the grace of God we are blessed to be under the leadership of HM the King who provides support to all and represents an ideal example of forgiveness and the reform project of HM the King is the future gateway for prosperity and growth and for the continuation of the clear openness approach. Through patience the hidden matters were exposed and the intentions of plotters were revealed.
Some underestimate us because of our limited resources, but by grace of God we are rich with our nationalism and sincerity, and as we have reinforced our security we will build our economy and treat our wounds by strengthen our internal front and national identity that come as top security priorities. The major sacrifices we made aimed to achieve security, stability and prosperity. This could be maintained through homogeneity of national security and the priority in words and deeds to the nation. Disloyalty to the nation will be dealt with in accordance to the law and through legislations we will build strong national stance under the leadership of HM the King.